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Mapping the Arab Diaspora: Examining Placelessness and Memory in Arab Art

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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-10-2017 1:00 PM Mapping the Arab Diaspora: Examining Placelessness and Memory in Arab Art Shahad Rashid The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Blackmore, Tim The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Shahad Rashid 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Recommended Citation Rashid, Shahad, "Mapping the Arab Diaspora: Examining Placelessness and Memory in Arab Art" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4925. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4925 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i Abstract Currently, the Middle East is experiencing adversity and instability due to political upheaval, war, and mass displacement, and has become the focus of international attention. This project investigates the ways contemporary Arab art utilizes creative expression to allow Arab diasporas and non-diasporas to negotiate their identities, promote collective memory, and reconcile fragmented and traumatic experiences. This investigation comprises a discussion of discourses regarding defining “diaspora,” “home” and “placelessness,” identity and popular media, contemporary Arab art, collective memory, and, briefly, temporality. The diversity of terms and histories are a testament to the impossibility of exploring diasporic conditions in a simple and straightforward way. Keywords Arab diaspora, placelessness, belonging, Islamic art, modern Arab art, collective memory, Marita Sturken, Wafaa Bilal ii Dedication …to the struggle iii Acknowledgments I have drafted my acknowledgments many times over never capturing the full scope of my appreciation. I wish I can devote many more pages to honour everyone individually. I must begin by wholly thanking my mother for supporting me through this journey and for encouraging her many friends to pray for my success and health. I am convinced their collective prayers have summoned the entirety of the spiritual realm to stand by me during moments when my own faith had trembled. I am deeply grateful for my supervisor and mentor, Prof. Tim Blackmore. Pursuing a master’s degree has always been my dream, if you had not pushed me to apply I would have lived with great regret—thank you. Your unwavering faith in my abilities is the well from which I draw resilience and self-love. Since stumbling into your office in first year, you have mentored and inspired me to remain stubbornly authentic, to express myself without fear. I still fill with joy when you encourage me to explore ideas and questions endlessly—your office is a sanctuary from a cruel world. Your interactions with students have taught me to remain open to the world as I grow and better myself. I look forward to passing on all that I have learned from you. Truly, I am forever indebted to you and privileged to be your student. I want to thank Prof. Randa Farah for, unknowingly, being my role model. I am honoured to have taken your class, it opened a door to different discourses and critical perspectives that are present throughout my project. Outside the class, you introduced me to Arab literature and fed my hunger to learn more. Importantly, I continue to be in awe at your command the spaces you enter. You showed me that Arab women can be fearless, exciting, and filled with adventure. I aim to lead a similarly exciting and authentic life. Prof. Carole Farber, words cannot express how valuable your insights were in developing my project. You are a wealth of knowledge and an extraordinary professor, I cherish your contributions to this project. I am deeply grateful that you allowed me to spend time in your office in December 2016, your words during that time resonate with me. iv I want to extend gratitude to Larsen Burchall for providing relief from the painful weight of this project, reminding me to take care of my body and spirit by way of food and laughter. Thank you to Rose, my beautiful cat, for sleeping on my notes as I worked through long nights and raising a paw when I was overdue for a break. Thank you to my indispensable colleagues for respecting, challenging and aiding me throughout this process. To all my dear friends who picked me off the ground, brushed the dust off my shoulders and insisted I try again, I promise to be as great of a friend to you as you were to me. I wish I can repay your labour. A humble and special thanks to Prof. Warren Steele for kindly pushing me to find my authorial voice despite my protests. Special shout-outs go to Darryl Pieber, Jennifer Opoku, and datejie green who dare to live their truth and courageously press ‘reset’ on life. As I conclude, I want to acknowledge all people of colour that were unable to access or continue their university education. I need to acknowledge their struggle for space and the suffering they endure within the academy—they should not be forgotten. As I write, current students of colour may be questioning if they should go on as world politics seep into their daily lives and classrooms, contributing to difficult mental health situations. I pray they find reason or hope to continue in their journey. Further, I give thanks to my ancestors for lending me strength when I had none, for working through me to express trauma that defies language. I have written my soul into this project tucked with a silent prayer that it plants seeds of hope in someone from a different time and place. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Dedication ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Reorienting my Perspective ............................................................................................ 2 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 3 Emerging Memories ........................................................................................................ 6 Thesis Structure .............................................................................................................. 7 Definitions ....................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 9 1. Exploring Diaspora, Home and Popular Culture ........................................................ 9 1.1 Diaspora .................................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Home ....................................................................................................................... 22 1.3 The Arab Diaspora/Non-Diaspora .......................................................................... 39 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 47 2. Art, Memory and Nostalgia ...................................................................................... 47 2.2 Contemporary Arab Art .......................................................................................... 48 2.2 Cultural Memory and Reflective Nostalgia ............................................................ 60 2.3 Subverting Time: .................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 88 3. Alsoudani: Painting Memory and Trauma ................................................................ 88 3.1 Biography of Ahmed Alsoudani ............................................................................. 89 3.2 Time, Space and Memory: ...................................................................................... 92 3.3 Unpacking Alsoudani’s Paintings ........................................................................... 97 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 105 vi Limitation .................................................................................................................... 109 Proposed Future Research ........................................................................................... 111 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................
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